The Simple Life at Home

This is it!!! In just a few days I'll be on a plane back to what was once home. While I'm totally excited about it, and my kids are bouncing off the walls about it, it's got me thinking about what "home" really is. For a Christian, I mean.

Yesterday in Bible study, I kind of got us off on a tangent about adapting to life here in Doha, mostly about our children, but also about us grown-up women. We had just looked at Jeremiah 29, the part before "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord," which everyone knows and loves. Here it is:

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."

I guess I just needed to vent a little about my frustrations with Emily refusing to adapt to living here. This verse just spoke to me about what she needs to hear (and apply!), that yes, we may be living in a foreign and strange land, but God brought us here. It's His will for us to be here and He wants us to make our lives here and be productive and live life to the fullest while He has us here. It brought up a lot of thoughts from the other women, but one in particular said something that has stuck with me.

Having moved around all her life, she said that she feels like she doesn't really have a place to call "home." She looked so sad and forlorn as she spoke that I just felt God overwhelming me with the thought that none of us have really experienced "home." Not how it was meant to be.

Sure, we may have the beautiful house that could be in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens. We may have a place where we feel cozy and loved and safe. It may be beautifully decorated and be the center of activity for your family and friends.

But God has so much more for us.

I'm just starting to read the book, "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn. It's been great so far, though I've only finished the first couple of chapters. But he points out that there is shockingly little discussion and, even worse, understanding of what heaven will be like in Christian circles today. I'd encourage you to get this book, but I don't really want this post to be about the book. It just seems as though all of us - whether you've lived in the same place your whole life, have moved from place to place, or suddenly find yourself in a culture completely different from what you've known your whole life - all of us long for something more.

So today, I'm thankful for the promise of Heaven. I'm thankful for Christ's intercession on my behalf. I'm thankful that God has put me here for a season and has made clear to me that, while this isn't all He has for me, it's what He has for me right now.

For more Thankful Thursday posts, be sure to visit Iris at Grace Alone.